One Armed Bandit - Jaga Jazzist
One Armed Bandit Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 4 Ratings

  • Summary: The Norwegian group led by Lars Horntveth continues its jazz fusion of music styles on its latest album.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Ultimately, this is what more bands should be striving to achieve: to thrill us, inspire us and confuse us - often all at the same time; to utiliize technology for the betterment of the whole rather than for technologies sake; and to allow multiple talents to merge and shine without a sense of the intrusion of personal ego.
  2. Few records in 2010 will contain songs quite so mind-bogglingly broad, playful, beguilingly pretty and intense as these slowly unfurling ensemble pieces.
  3. Big layers of instruments dual with and complement each other via weird time signatures, and inspired, complex riffs that sound like they’re scoring a car chase from a cult Seventies film, mixed with bursts of electronic futurism--perhaps best displayed on the album’s title track--a manic, brilliant piece of instrumental songwriting that shows Jaga Jazzist to be at the top of their game.
  4. One-Armed Bandit dazzles early on... Later portions of the album are larded with so many graceless, attention-deficit hazards that it’s unknown exactly what the band (or is that “groop”?) was attempting to accomplish.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of